Motobecane fit help

ccrnnr9

I will be purchasing one of those Motobecane Grand Sprints tonight (895$). I plan to ride it for awhile and buy a Pedal Force QS2 frame in the early summer and swap parts. Can any of you guys give me some help on fit? The geometry is almost identical to my current Masi Alare. Attached is my most recent fit kit test.

In addition, the geometry for the moto can be found here:
http://www.motobecane.com/lec_geometry.html

Any help would be appreciated! I feel fine on my current bike, but I can never tell if the fit is right. I have a feeling that I am kind of between a 56cm and 58cm and therefore either would work for me. I may have to swap out stems or something like that and mess with seat height but...are my thoughts correct?
~Nick

John M

I will be purchasing one of those Motobecane Grand Sprints tonight (895$). I plan to ride it for awhile and buy a Pedal Force QS2 frame in the early summer and swap parts. Can any of you guys give me some help on fit? The geometry is almost identical to my current Masi Alare. Attached is my most recent fit kit test.

In addition, the geometry for the moto can be found here:
http://www.motobecane.com/lec_geometry.html

Any help would be appreciated! I feel fine on my current bike, but I can never tell if the fit is right. I have a feeling that I am kind of between a 56cm and 58cm and therefore either would work for me. I may have to swap out stems or something like that and mess with seat height but...are my thoughts correct?
~Nick

That geometry looks pretty standard road (73/73 seat/head, TT proportional to seat tube, 41cm chain stay, etc...). Based on your previous threads, you are a young guy planning on racing, which makes me think that you probably still have decent flexibility (young) and want to be able to get low and aero (for the sprints and leading out breaks). Look at effective top tube length as compared to your current frame. If you feel good on the current frame with a 100-130mm stem and you can get low enough, perhaps stick with the 58cm. If you are running a short stem, or feel like the front end is too high, going with a smaller frame and longer stem may be better for you.

Interesting that you rejected the Giant TCR based on test rides, but are embracing buying online without a test ride.

ccrnnr9

That geometry looks pretty standard road (73/73 seat/head, TT proportional to seat tube, 41cm chain stay, etc...). Based on your previous threads, you are a young guy planning on racing, which makes me think that you probably still have decent flexibility (young) and want to be able to get low and aero (for the sprints and leading out breaks). Look at effective top tube length as compared to your current frame. If you feel good on the current frame with a 100-130mm stem and you can get low enough, perhaps stick with the 58cm. If you are running a short stem, or feel like the front end is too high, going with a smaller frame and longer stem may be better for you.

Interesting that you rejected the Giant TCR based on test rides, but are embracing buying online without a test ride.
I appreciate the advice. With regards to the comment on the TCR, this bike is a much better deal. For less than 900$ I am getting a full ultegra groupo, FSA slk carbon crank, bars, stem, somewhat decent wheelset, etc. I plan to build off of a carbon Pedal Force frame once finals are over. All i will have to do is swap parts over. As far as the Giant goes, I did not hate it, but the super compact geometry is not for me. I prefer the standard or semi-compact as that is what I am used to. One thing I did notice and have heard about the lower end giant composit frames is that they are not as stiff as other frames. I have read reviews on this bike and the pedal force frames saying the opposite. Again, nothing against Giant (I think they are one of the best in the industry) but this is a better deal for me.
~Nick

John M

I appreciate the advice. With regards to the comment on the TCR, this bike is a much better deal. For less than 900$ I am getting a full ultegra groupo, FSA slk carbon crank, bars, stem, somewhat decent wheelset, etc. I plan to build off of a carbon Pedal Force frame once finals are over. All i will have to do is swap parts over. As far as the Giant goes, I did not hate it, but the super compact geometry is not for me. I prefer the standard or semi-compact as that is what I am used to. One thing I did notice and have heard about the lower end giant composit frames is that they are not as stiff as other frames. I have read reviews on this bike and the pedal force frames saying the opposite. Again, nothing against Giant (I think they are one of the best in the industry) but this is a better deal for me.
~Nick

You are right about a good deal. $900 for the full component/wheel group is like getting the frame for free.

ccrnnr9

You are right about a good deal. $900 for the full component/wheel group is like getting the frame for free.
And since I only plan to ride on that frame and probably wont ride on the wheels at all, I can probably get at least 200$ for them together...maybe more. That would mean I essentially got everything minus frame and wheels for under 700$...banging deal if you ask me. The other good thing is that I will be doing my first races on this frame so if anything does go wrong, I won't have to worry about damaging a brand new carbon frame. In addition, I doubt the frame is bad. It weighs in less than 3 lbs and has carbon stays which should provide for a smoother ride than my sora-equipped masi.
~Nick